Since 1964, the Snow Monkey Park, the official name of which is Jigokudani yaen-koen, has been visited and loved by millions of people from all over the world. As a place where the interesting life of the Japanese Macaques can be observed nearby, and as a place of unique snow monkeys bathing in natural hot spring (Onsen) , Jigokudani Yaenkoen is just so popular both home and abroad even after the March 11th.

My fellow tour guides and I have conducted Snow Monkey Tours almost every week for more than three months. We tried very hard to successfully cope with the task. Cheerful smiles and happy faces of our guests were our best reward!

The Snow Monkey park will have another lovely season; from late April or May, you will be able to see tiny little nowborns carried in their mothers’ arms. There will be no snow on the path to the park anymore. Enjoy a wonderful day in Nagano!

The monkeys can usually be seen in and around the onsen baths at the Jigokudani Wild Monkey Park year-round. However, there is only snow there in the winter. So if you go in May, you’ll likely see lots of cute monkeys, but no snow. The babies are already starting to be born, though, so you’ll be able to see the extra-cute little babies running around.

I visited the snow monkeys again late April with my friends. It was totally a different world from winter; the trail to the park was completely dry and confortable to walk on. There was no snow at the park, but as Tyler-san mentioned earlier, there I saw at least three newborn monkyes. They were just adorable little creatures. I bet it will be worth visiting in May.